ORONO, Maine – No. 5 UAlbany scored twice in the ninth to edge No. 4 Maine in the opener, while No. 3 Binghamton blasted 12 runs in the seventh to blow past No. 6 UMBC in the opening day of the Northeast Delta Dental Baseball Championship on Mahaney Diamond at the University of Maine.
The Great Danes took an early lead but the host Black Bears tied it up at four in the sixth. They came through with two runs in the top of the ninth and Matthew Mariano shut the door with three straight outs to secure the win.
Binghamton jumped out a 2-0 lead early, but trailed 6-2 entering the seventh inning. The Bearcats ripped off an #AEBASE-record 12 runs in the bottom of the frame, capped off by a Devan Bade grand slam to pull away.
Thursday’s action gets underway at 11 a.m. as top seed Bryant faces No. 5 UAlbany, while No. 2 NJIT battles No. 3 Binghamton at 3 p.m. The losers of each of the first two contests face off at 7 p.m. in an elimination game.
No. 5 UAlbany 6, No. 4 Maine 4
- The Great Danes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Levi McAllister doubled home Ryan Ferremi.
- Maine plated a pair in the bottom of the fourth as Myles Sargent ripped a two-run home run to left field for a 2-1 advantage. The Black Bears extended their lead to 3-1 an inning later.
- In the top of the sixth UAlbany went back in front. After loading the bases the visitors scored on a passed ball, sacrifice fly and wild pitch for a 4-3 advantage.
- Maine pulled even 4-4 in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double to right center.
- UAlbany put the first two on in the ninth and moved the runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Victor Mazzara followed with a two-RBI single to left to grab a 6-4 lead.
- Mariano shut the door in the ninth, needing the just ten pitches to retire the side. He earned the win with 3.0 perfect innings of work and five strikeouts.
- Dylan Banner started and gave up four runs in 6.0 innings on nine hits with five strikeouts, while McAllister had two hits and two RBI.
No. 3 Binghamton 14, No. 6 UMBC 8
- Binghamton jumped on UMBC in the bottom of the first inning with RBI hits from Evin Sullivan and Zack Kent for a 2-0 advantage. UMBC responded in the top of the second to tie it 2-2 on a 2-run double by Sergio Droz.
- In the top of the fifth UMBC grabbed a 3-2 advantage and one inning later added three more runs, capped off by a two run homer from Ehi Okojie.
- Binghamton broke the game open with 12 runs in the bottom of the seventh. Zack Rogacki drove in a run and Bade followed with a 2-RBI double to close the gap to 6-5.
- Four of the next five hitters also reached, driving in three more runs for an 8-6 advantage. A pair of bases-loaded walks extended it to 10-6 and Bade capped off the inning with a grand slam.
- UMBC’s Leewood Molessa hit a two-run shot in the top of the ninth for the 14-8 final.
- Bade finished 3-for-4 with 6 RBI and three runs, while Kent and Sullivan also had three hits. Chris Sleeper earned the win going 1.2 innings without allowing a hit or a run, as one of six pitchers to appear for Binghamton.
Stay up-to-date on all the action by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links as well as box scores and recaps following each round in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
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